Feeding mechanism for printing-presses



(No Model.) 7 Sheets-Sheet 1. F. H. VAN LOOZEN.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES. No. 474,884. Patented May 17,1892.

2 m e h S 4W U e e h S 4 N E Z O 0 L N A V H R q d 0 M 0 W FEEDINGMECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES. No. 474,884.

Patented May 17, 1892.

we Nonms Patina cm. PHOIO-LITHO., WASNINGTDN. n. c.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3. IE. H. VAN LOOZEN.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

No. 474,884. 1 Patented May 17, 1892.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRED HENRY VAN LOOZEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR PRlNTlNG-PRESSES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 474,884, dated May 17,1892.

' Application filed May 20, 1891. Serial No. 393,388. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRED HENRY VAN Lo- ZEN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State ofOhio, have invented a new and use- With this object and such others asfairly.

fall within the scope of the invention in view my invention consists ofthe mechanism illustratcd in the accompanying drawings, the peculiarconstruction, combination,and arrangement of which will be fullydescribed hereinafter, and the specific points of novelty particularlypointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improvedfeeding mechanism in position upon a press. Fig. 2 is a longitudinalsection thereof, showing the parts in another position. Fig. 3 is a planview of the invention. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the same. Fig. 5is a detail perspective view of one of the feedingdevers and itsattachments. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a cam to be used onpresses in which the cylinder makes two revolutions to every impression.Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views of a modification. I

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in theseveral views, referring to which- 1 designates the feed-table, and 2the cylinder, of an ordinary cylinder printing-press. Journaled in lugs3 upon the table 1 is a shaft 4, which extends transversely across thesaid table and has secured thereto between the lugs 3 a leafsheet-support 5, upon which the paper 6 is placed. A thin board or plateof metal 7 is placed transversely across the table just in front of theleaf 5, so that the edges of the paper when placed upon the leaf willrest against the said plate 7. Upon the lower edge of the strip 7 areformed rearwardly-extending lugs 8, which are slotted to receiveset-screws 9, which secure the said strip adjustably to the table.Adjusting-screws 10 are mounted in lugs 11 upon the table 1 and passthrough threaded openings in the ends of the plates 7. Thus the plate 7maybe adjusted forwardly and rearwardlyby means of the screws 10 apdclamped in any desired position by the set-screws 9.

Lugs 12 are formed upon the front of the strip 7 near the ends thereof,and in these lugs is journaled a rod 13,having a thin supplementalseparating or intercepting plate 14 secured thereto. The plate 14 hasits upper end bent inwardly above the upper edge of the plate 7. Abell-crank lever 15 is secured upon the outer end of the rod 13, thehorizontal arm of which carries a Weight 16, which normally holds theplate 14 away from the plate 7. The upright arm of the said bellcranklever is arranged to be operated upon by mechanism (hereinafterdescribed) to move the upper edge of the plate 14 over the upper edge ofthe plate 7.

Upon the front corners of the feed-table 2 are uprights 17, which aresecured to the said table by rearwardly-extending feet 18. Arms 19 aresecured to the feet 18 and extend rearwardly and upwardly, having ashaft 20 journaled in their rear ends and extending across over thepaper-receptacle. Disks 21 are centrally perforated and have collars 22around the perforations. These disks are mounted upon the shaft 20 andare adjustable longitudinally thereon. Set-screws 23, which pass throughthe collars 22, serve to hold the disks at any desired position upon thesaid shaft.

An arm 24 is secured upon one end of the shaft 4 and extends rcarwardly,having a weight 25 adjustably secured thereon. The paper 6 is placedupon the leaf 5 and the weight adjusted so as toraise the paper andpress it in contact with the rubber tires 26 31 are pivoted upon theupper ends of the arms 28, below the shaft 27, and extend upwardly andpartially inclose the rod 30. Ad-

j usting-screws 32 pass through the upwardlyextending arms of theU-shaped frames 31 in end of the arms 28 are formed flatrearwardly-extending jaws 33, and just above these jaws are pivoted jaws34, the rear ends of which may be brought in contact with the rear endsof the jaws Link-rods 35 are pivoted at one end to the U-shaped frames31 and at the other ends tothe pawls 34,just in rear of their pivotalpoints. Thus it will be seen that if the shaft 27 be rotated to swingthe jaws 33 of the arms 28 toward the paper-receptacle one of theadjusting-screws of the U -shaped frames will impinge against the rod 30and hold'the frames from movement, the effect of which will be that thelink-rods will press the jaws 34 down into contact with the rear ends ofthe jaws 33.

A bell-crank lever 36 is secured atits angle to one end of the shaft 27.The horizontal arm 37 of the bell-crank lever carries a weight 38, whichtends to move the vertical arm 39 of the said lever rearwardly, as willbe obvious. The vertical arm 30 depends upon the angle of the lever andhas pivoted to-itslower end one end of alin-k-rod 40. Upon one endof theshaft 20 is loosely mounted the lower end of'a lever 41, which extendsupwardly and is slotted,asat 42,and therear end of the link-rod 40 ispivotally and adjust-ably secured in the slot 42. A ratchet-disk 43 isrigidly secured to the end of the shaft 20, adjacent to the lever 41,and a pawl 44 upon the latter is arranged to engage the teeth of theratchet-disk 43, so that when the said leverismoved rearwardly the saidpawl will turn the ratchet-disk, and with it thedisks 21, in thedirection of the arrow; but when .the lever is moved forwardly the pawlwill slip idly over the ratchet-teeth.

Upon one of the arms 19 is pivoted a cam 56 in proper position to actupon the vertical arm of the bell-crank lever 15, which latter may beprovided with an anti-friction roller 15, and thus turn the shaft 13 tocause the upper curved edge of the strip 14 to pass over the upper edgeof the strip 7. The cam 56 is operated by a link-rod 55, the upper endof which is pivoted to the bell-crank lever and the lower end thereof ispivoted to the cam 56 by means of slot connection, as shown, to allowfor adjustment.

The link-rod 45 is pivoted at its upper end to the horizontal arm of thebell-crank lever- 36 and extends downwardly near the end of the cylinder2. A bracket 46 is secured to the side of the upright 17, adjacent tothe linkrod 45,and an anti-friction roller 47 upon the said bracketextends into a slot 48 in the said link-rod 45 to guide the latter inits vertical movement.

Upon the end of the cylinder 2, or upon a gear wheel attached thereto,is secured a curved frame or cam 49, the central part 50 of which iscurved concentric with the cylinder and the ends are curved inwardlytoward the center of the cylinder, as shown at 51. The lower end of thelink-rod 45 is provided with an anti-friction roller 52, which extendsinto the path of the casting 49, and as the cylinder revolvesthe curvedend 51 of the casting will come in contact with the said antifrictionroller and raise the link-rod, which will be held in its raised positionuntil the whole length of the casting has passed the roller.

The press is provided with the usual paperguides 53 and the otherappliances generally used upon this form of press, which latter,however, are not shown in the drawings.

The operation of theinvention is as follows: Supposing the initial orstarting position to be that shown in Fig. 1, in which the bar 45 isheld in a raised position by the casting 40 and the arm 28 is in itsforwardposition, the paper is placed upon the leaf 5 and the weight 25adjusted to raise the said paper and keep it pressed against the rubbertire on the disks 21. This brings the top sheet just above the upperedge of the plate 7. A sheet may be placed upon the front edge of. thefeedtable, beneath the guides, in position to be caught by the grippersupon the cylinder. Then the press is started, the sheet so placed inposition will be caught by the cylinder in the usual manner, and afterit has been carried off of thefeed-table the cam 49 will pass from underthe bar 45, thus allowing the weight 38 to move the horizontal arm ofthe bell-crank lever 39 downwardly until stopped by the end of theslot4S in the bar 45 coming in contact with the roller 47. This movementof the bell-crank lever will rotate the shaft 27 and swing the arms 28rearwardly. At the same time the lower arm of the bellcrank lever 39will also move rearwardly and, through the link-rod 40, the lever 41,and the pawl 44, rotate the shaft 20, carrying the disks 21, in thedirection of the arrow. The effect of the rotation of the disks will bethat their rubber tires, which rest upon the paper, will move the uppersheet of the latter forwardly. As this takes place the link-rod 55,having one end pivoted to the bell-crank lever 39 and the other end tothe cam 56, pivoted upon one of the arms 19 in such position that itwill act upon the vertical arm of the bell-crank lever 15, will actuatethe said cam and bell-crank lever to rotate the shaft 13 and cause therearwardlycurved upper edge of the separating orintercept-ing strip orplate 14 to pass over the edge of the strip 7 against the lower side ofthe advancing sheet, and thus intercept the next sheet and prevent itfrom adhering to and being fed with the top sheet. These severalmovements are so timed that as the top sheet is being advanced the flatjaws 33 upon the arms 28 will pass beneath and the ends of the jaws 34above the front edge thereof. As the arms 28 move rearwardly one of theadj usting-screws in'the U-shapcd frames 31 will impinge against the rod30, and thus hold the said frames from movement. The further movement ofthe levers 28 will cause the link- ITO rod 35 to press the jaws 34downwardly toward the jaws 33. A spring 57 is secured to each of thearms 28 and to the lower parts of the jaws 34, so as to cross theirpivots, and when the said pawls have been pressed down far enough tocause 'the springs to pass in front of their pivots, and thus bring therear ends of the pawl down upon the paper, the latter will be heldbetween the jaws 33 and 34, as shown in Fig. 2. The parts will remain inthis position until the casting 49 passes under the roller 52 of the bar45, thus raising the latter and bringing the parts again into theposition shown in Fig. 1. As the levers 28 move forwardly they carry thesheet of paper with them, thus bringing its edge beneath the guides, atwhich time the other adj ustingscrew in the frames 31 will come incontact with the rod 30 and stop the movement of the frames 31. Thusfurther forward movement of the levers will cause the link-rod 35 topull the jaws 34 upwardly, and thus release the paper, which will beleft in the proper position to be caught by the grippers on thecylinder. When the pawls 34 have moved upwardly far enough to cause thespring 57 to pass in rear of their pivots, the said spring will pull thepawls upwardly and hold them in a raised position until the nextbackward movement of the lever. Thus it will be seen that at eachrevolution of the cylinder one sheet of paper is fed thereto.

The table 1 has a rearward extension 60, upon the extremity of which isa bell 61. A lever 62 is pivoted in close proximity to the bell, and hasupon the upper end thereof a hammer 63 in position to strike the bellwhen the lever is vibrated rearwardly. The lever extends downwardly andis bent at its lower end toward the front of the machine and providedwith a weight 64. When paper is upon the leaf 5, a pin 65 upon the arm'24 holds the lever in a forward position, thus keeping the hammer 63out of contact with the bell. As the paper is fed to the press the leaf5 gradually rises and the arm 24 falls lower, until when the supply ofpaper is nearly exhausted the pin 65 passes below the bent lower end ofthe lever 62, thus allowing the weight 64 to swing the hammer 63 uponthe upperend of the lever against the bell, sounding an alarm to warnthe attendant that the paper is nearly exhausted.

In Fig. 6 is shown a flanged cam to be used on presses in which thecylinder makes two revolutions to every impression. In this instance thefianged cam is curved concentric with the cylinder from the points to71, and to the front end is pivoted an extension 72. The rear end of thecam is bent downwardly, as at 73, and has pivoted to its extremity anextension 74, the rear end of which is connected by a link-rod with theextension 72. In operation the roller 52,after passing over top of themain or central part of the cam, passes down the bent rear end thereofand impinges against the extension 74, thus throwing the parts into theposition shown in dotted lines. Upon the next revolution the extension72 is raised and passes over the roller 52 without actuating it. Thusthe main portion of the cam passes over the roller without touching it;but the under side of the rear extension 74 strikes the roller and isthrown back to its normal position,thus bringing the front extensioninto position to raise the roller on its next revolution. Thus theroller 52 and bar 45 will be raised to actuate the feeding mechanismonly on each alternate revolution of the cylinder- It will be understoodthat I do not wish to confine myself to the precise construction hereindescribed and shown, as many modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention-as, for instance, in lieu ofthe supplemental plate or strip 14 I may use a series of knives 80, asshown in Fig. 7, suitably adj ustably secured to the shaft 13 andarranged to be operated. in the same manner as the plate 14. In thisinstance the upper edge of the plate 7 will be beveled where the paperpasses over it, as at 81, and have notches 82 along its upper edge forthe curved points 83 of theknives to pass through, all as clearly shownin Figs. 7 and 8.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of apivoted and counterbalanced sheet-holding leaf, a longitudinally-adjustable end plate located in front of said leaf and forming a rest forthe front edges of the sheets upon the leaf, a separating orintercepting plate secured to said end plate, means for operating saidseparating or intercepting plate at intervals, feeding-rollers locatedabove said table, and means for carrying the separated sheets from saidsupporting-leaf to the cylinderof the press, substantially as set forth.

2. In a feeding mechanism for printing presses, the combination of apivoted and counterbalanced sheet-holding table, a longitudinally-adjustable end plate located in front of said leaf or table, thesupplemental intercepting or separating plate secured to the front ofsaid end plate and adapted to work over the top edge thereof,feeding-rollers located directly above said end plate and pivoted leaf,meansfor simultaneously actuating said rollers and separating-plate,sheet-carrying devices connected with the feeding and separatingdevices, and means for operating the carriers and separating devices bythe revolution of the cylinder, substantially as set forth.

3. Ina feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of acounterbalanced paper-support, a series of parallel rubbertired disksmounted upon a single shaft. 20, journaled directly above saidpaper-support, a ratchet-disk upon one end of said shaft 20, a slottedlever 41, loosely mounted upon one IIO end of said shaft and providedwith a pivoted pawl adapted to engage the teeth upon said ratchet-disk,an operating link-rod 40, adj ustably connected with said slotted lever,and means for reciprocating said rod by the revolutions of the cylinder,substantially as set forth.

4. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of apaper-holding leaf secured to the feeding-table of the press andprovided with a weighted extension-arm, a longitudinally-adjustable endplate located in front of said leaf and adapted to form a rest for thefront edges of the sheets, a supplemental intercepting and separatingplate pivotally mounted upon said end plate and provided with an uppercurved edge adapted to pass over the top of said end plate and under thetop sheet of paper and. intercept the second, and also provided withaweighted crank at one end to hold the same normally away from thepaper, friction-disks located above the paper-receptacle and adapted tofeed the same over the top of the end plate and the intercepter, m eansfor simultaneously actuating said rollers and weighted cranks, and meansfor carrying the separated sheets to the cylinder of the press,substantially as set forth.

5. Ina feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of thecounterbalanced sheet-holding leaf, a longitudinally-adjustable endplate located at the front edge of said leaf and provided with a seriesof notches along its upper edge, a rock-shaft journaled transverselyupon said end plate, a series of separating and intercepting kniveshaving an upper curved end and adjustably secured to said shaft, theupper curved ends adapted to enter the said notches and to pass underthe top sheet of paper and intercept the second sheet, and means forfeeding said sheets of paper over the top edge of said end plate andintercepter to the press-cylinder, substantially as set forth.

6. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination, with anautomatic table-feed for feeding sheets one at a time, of swingingfeeding-arms mounted upon a shaft journaled above the feedin g-table ofthe press, spring-actuated jaws or grippers at the lower ends of saidarms, U-shapcd frames pivotally connected to the upper end of eachfeedingarm, the transverse-rod mounted above said shaft and adapted tolimit the movement of the U-shaped frames, a link connecting saidU-shaped frames with the spring-actuated jaws to operate the same, aweighted lever mounted upon the outer end of said arm-shaft, anoperating-bar connected to said Weighted lever, and a cam-casting uponthe cylinder to actuate said bar, substantially as set forth.

'7. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination, with afeed-table and cylinder, of the paper-holding leaf pivotally mountedupon said table, rubber-tired feeding-disks mounted upon a shaft locatedabove said paper-leaf, means for intermittently rotating said disks, aweighted arm projecting from said leaf and provided at its outer endwith a projecting pin, an alarmbell upon the feeding-table, ahammer-lever pivoted to the outer end of said feeding-table and providedwith a weighted bent lower end, the said pin being adapted to normallyengage said alarm-lever and override the lower weighted end of the samewhen the paper is exhausted and allow the alarm to be rung, and meansfor removing the separated sheets from the feeding devices to thecylinder of the press, substantially as set forth.

8. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination, with acounterbalanced feeding-table or supplemental leaf, of an adjustable endplate located at the forward end of said leaf and adapted to inclose thepaper, a separating and intercepting plate pivotally secured to said endplate and provided with an upper curved end adapted to pass over the topof said end plate and under the top sheet of paper, the same being alsoprovided with a weighted bell-crank lever at one end, having acontact-roller, rubber-tired feeding-disks mounted upon a shaftjournaled above said feeding-leaf, a ratchetdisk upon one end of saidshaft, a longitudinally-slotted lever pivotally mounted upon said shaftand provided with a pawl adapted to engage the teeth of saidratchet-disk, an oscillating shaft journaled above the cylinder to thepress, a cam-disk pivoted upon the frame of the press and adapted toengage said contact-roller upon the intercepting-plate lever, actuatingrods or levers connected with said oscillating shaft and with thecam-disk and the slotted swinging lever, and means for actuating saidoscillating shaft and carrying the separated sheets to the cylinder,substantially as set forth.

9. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of apaper-support, feeding-disks mounted upon a shaft 20, journaled abovethe paper-receptacle and having a pawl-and-rat-chet attachment forrotating the disks at the proper times, swinging feeding-arms mountedupon a shaft 27, journaled above the feeding-table of the press, abellorank lever mounted upon one end of the shaft 27, one arm of whichis connected with a pawl-and-ratchet attachment to rotate thefeeding-disks, a weight 38 upon the horizontal arm of said bell-cranklever, abar 45, connected with the same arm of said lever, guides forsaid bar, and a cam-casting upon the cylinder to actuate said bar andoperate the feeding mechanism at the proper moment, substantially as setforth.

10. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of apaper-support, feeding-disks mounted upon a shaft 20, journaled abovethe paper-receptacle and having a pawl-and-ratchet attachment forrotating the disks at the proper times, feeding-arms mounted upon anoscillating shaft 27, jour- ICC IIO

naled upon the feeding-table of the press, aws 33 upon the extreme lowerend of said feeding-arms, spring-actuated jaws pivoted to said arms andfacing the lowermost jaws, U-shaped frames pivoted to the upper ends ofthe feeding-arms, a rod mounted above the shaft 27 within said U-shapedframes and adapted to limit the movement of the same, a link-rod 35,connecting the U -shaped frames with the spring-actuated jaws, so thatthe latter may be operated by the former, a bellcrank lever secured tothe end of the shaft 27, one arm of which is connected with thepawl-and-ratchet attachment to operate the disks, a bar 45, connectedwith the other arm of the bell-crank lever, a suitable guide upon theframe of the press, a Weight 38, mounted upon one arm of said bell-cranklever, and a cam'casting upon the cylinder to raise the bar l5 tooperate the feeding mechanism, substantially as set forth.

11. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination,-with aflanged camcasting secured upon the cylinder of the press, a doubleflanged extension pivoted on the extreme front end of said cam, adaptedto form a continuation of the top and under sides, respectively, of theflange comprising said cam, a pivoted and flanged extension pivoted onthe rear end of the cam and also forming a continuation of the flangethereof, a link connecting said extensions, and a bar having a roller atthe lower end adapted to rotate over the top of the flange of said camto operate the feeding mechanism and to change the position of theextensions as it passes from the top of the same, so that at the nextrevolution of the cylinder the said roller will be guided by the rearend extension beneath the flange of the cam, and vice versa,substantially as set forth.

12. In a feeding mechanism for printingpresses, the combination of' apaper-receptacle, an intercepter pivotally secured to said receptacleand adapted to separate the top sheet of paper, means for actuating saidinterceptor, swinging feeding-arms mounted upon a shaft 27, journaledupon the feedingtable of the press, jaws 33 upon the extreme lower endsof the said feeding-arms, springactuated jaws pivoted to said armsdirectly above said lower jaws, U-shaped frames pivoted to the upperends of the feeding-arms, a rod mounted above the shaft 27 to limit themovement of said arms, a link-rod 35, connecting the U-shaped arms withthe springactuated jaws, so that the latter may be operated by theframe, a bell-crank lever secured to the end of the shaft 27, a bar 45,connected with the bell-crank lever and suitably guided upon the frameof the press, a weight 38, mounted upon the arm of the bell-crank lever,and a flanged casting upon the cylinder to raise the bar 45 to operatethe feeding mechanism, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRED HENRY VAN LOOZEN.

Witnesses:

JOHN REUBELT, CoNrE VAN LOOZEN.

